Turkish authorities arrested dozens of people over the weekend and into Tuesday in a coordinated multi-province crackdown targeting LGBTQ+ activists, gay bars, and organizations. The operation, dubbed My Family is Safe
, involves 162 suspects across 15 provinces and has drawn immediate condemnation from European Union officials and international human rights watchdogs.
Coordinated Raids and Wide-Ranging Arrests Across Provinces
Turkish police launched raids and weekend operations across 12 provinces, arresting at least 47 people in connection with LGBTQ+ organizations, activists, and businesses. Authorities seized digital equipment, drugs, smuggled alcohol, and a firearm during the searches, according to the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office. In Istanbul, police targeted gay bars and the homes of activists, while demonstrators gathering outside Istanbul’s main courthouse on Tuesday to demand the release of detained activists faced further arrests after unfurling banners.
The scale of the judicial proceedings extends far beyond the initial weekend detentions. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced that the wider coordinated investigation targets 162 suspects, nine associations, and 13 businesses across 15 provinces, with prosecutors active in Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Aydın, and Mersin.
Among the primary targets is Kaos GL, an LGBTQ+ rights organization. Ankara prosecutors detained 21 individuals connected with the organization, while Kaos GL reported that at least 50 activists in total have been taken into custody, including more than 10 removed directly from their homes. The group also stated that authorities blocked access to dozens of LGBTQ+-related websites and social media accounts, including its online newspaper, KaosGL.org.
The Decade of Family and Population
Framework and Legal Allegations
The government’s campaign operates under the title My Family is Safe
, a banner that state officials explicitly link to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s 2026–2035 Decade of Family and Population vision and a presidential general circular. Prosecutors allege that the targeted individuals and groups committed offenses including facilitating prostitution, providing premises for prostitution, producing or distributing obscene material, and inappropriately influencing children and young people regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.
While same-sex relationships are not illegal under Turkish law, the government has intensified restrictions in recent years, including bans on Pride events. President Erdoğan has repeatedly characterized LGBTQ+ identities as incompatible with traditional family values and responsible for the falling birth rate and an aging population.
The intersection of demographic anxiety and state crackdowns creates a precarious legal environment for activists and foreign refugees alike. In a parallel case highlighting the mounting pressures, irakischer LGBTQ+-aktivist Aws Jubair faces the constant threat of deportation to Iraq, where his activism is public and a seven-year prison sentence awaits him. Despite submitting documentation of his human rights work, his protection claim was denied by Turkish authorities after a brief detention in a removal center that he described as traumatisierend.
International Condemnation and Domestic Pushback
Domestic civil society groups and international bodies have rejected the government’s justification for the raids.
Turkey’s Human Rights Association stated that the real name of that operation is not My Family Is Safe, but rather state-led discrimination, the politics of fear, and the dismantling of civil society.
International officials echoed those warnings. Christian Wigand, a spokesperson for the European Commission, told Le Monde that the commission is concerned by the arrests and legal proceedings. Michael O’Flaherty, the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe, raised concerns regarding the targeted raids on civil society and human rights defenders.
Nacho Sánchez Amor, the European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur, urged people to stop weaponizing family values to persecute LGBTI individuals, adding that families are protected by helping them make ends meet, combating gender-based violence and forced child marriage, and upholding the Constitution.
As prosecutors continue to evaluate whether to substantiate the criminal allegations against the 162 suspects, queer organizations, human rights defenders, and detained activists await further legal actions across the country’s courts and chief public prosecutors’ offices.